3 Keys to Unlocking Professional Services
When a company says they will offer retail professional services, what exactly does that mean? The term is like a sign on a closed door, and the door must be unlocked in order to see inside. For instance, many professional services will say they provide planning. Planning for what? Planning how? Planning when?
All professional planning should have three characteristics, “keys” that unlock doors to explanations of exactly what the scope of the plan involves. These three keys are Project Goals, Key Milestones, and Deliverables.
Project Goals
The goals for a project cannot be developed without input from everyone involved. This means teamwork, both from the company providing the professional services and the client paying for those services.
Any professional service that tells a client what they need before spending time learning what that client wants is not a high-quality service. Planning development includes careful questions, examining pain points in processes, and identifying causes. It also includes a thorough understanding of the client’s wish list, the goals that are hoped for by utilizing the planned project.
Key Milestones
Key milestones are defined steps along the way toward the project goals. They are good places to stop and discuss how things are going, what might need to be changed, and any additional insights gained along the way. Professional services use key milestones as indications the plan is working or needs adjusting. They are essential — professional client support is an ongoing process and a relationship.
Deliverables
This key is what really unlocks the door to a plan — a deliverable is the realistic expectation set in place after professional services and clients come to an agreement on what a project plan will entail. Without deliverables, there aren’t concrete proofs a plan works.
ChainDrive Retail Professional Services will utilize all three of these keys in the planning process before opening the doors to implementation and deployment. This ensures that the plan a client gets is the right plan for their business.